Kwadwo Konadu-Agyemang

Kwadwo Konadu-Agyemang, professor of Geography and Planning at the University of Akron, died recently following an extended illness at the age of 52. His professional career included service as an instructor and professor at several colleges and universities in Australia, Canada, and the United States. He joined the University of Akron in 1997 as an assistant professor and earned the rank of full professor in 2006.

Born in Ghana in 1955, Kwadwo completed his BSc in land economy at the University of Science and Technology in Kumasi in 1981. After a short stint in the Government Lands Department in Ghana, he spent two years in Nigeria teaching high school. Kwadwo subsequently moved to Australia where he completed a master’s degree in urban planning at Melbourne University in 1987 and a PhD in geography at Monash University in 1991.

Kwadwo’s research and publications focused principally on African economic development, urban problems, and population migration. He authored one book, The Political Economy of Housing and Urbanization in Africa (2000), and edited or co-edited three more, IMF and World Bank Programs in Africa: Ghana’s Experiences (2001), The New African Diaspora in Community Building and Adaptation (2006), and Africa in the 21st Century: Pertinent Socio-economic Issues (2006). In addition, he authored or co-authored over 30 professional articles and book chapters.